JP2018043617A - Spacecraft payload monitoring device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a spacecraft payload monitoring device that has reduced weight and visually confirms states of an orbital extension object and a drive device of a spacecraft.SOLUTION: A spacecraft payload monitoring device includes: an imaging device 1 for imaging devices; and a mirror 5 provided within a field of view of the imaging device. The imaging device captures an image of a device 2 reflected by the mirror, thereby imaging a device located in a place where the field of view is interrupted, and reducing the number of payload cameras; thus, weight of a spacecraft can be reduced.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a monitoring device capable of visually confirming the status of equipment mounted on a spacecraft in outer space.

After a satellite launch, when visually confirming the status of on-orbit deployments such as antennas and solar panels and the driving equipment mounted on the satellite, it is usually necessary to use a camera that has been placed on the satellite in advance. Take a picture.
From the viewpoint of reducing the number of mounted cameras as much as possible, it is desirable that the camera be arranged at a position where a plurality of objects to be photographed fall within the same visual field as much as possible. However, if the subject is far away or if the subject is in a position where the field of view is obstructed by the satellite structure, etc., a separate camera dedicated to the subject is prepared and the camera is placed in the satellite. I was trying to do it.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-147298

  In recent spacecrafts, a monitor camera has been installed to visually check the status of the in-orbit deployment object and the moving drive equipment, and to help evaluate the health of the satellite and investigate the cause of the occurrence of singular events. It is requested.

Conventionally, since it is desirable to reduce the number of cameras as much as possible due to the mounting space and the mass of satellites, fixed cameras have been arranged in spacecraft so that a plurality of objects to be photographed enter the field of view as much as possible.
However, if the object to be photographed is located far away, or if the object to be photographed is in a position where it is blocked by a satellite structure or the like and does not enter the field of view, it is not possible to photograph all the objects to be photographed with one fixed camera.
In such a case, there was a problem that one camera had to be arranged for each object to be photographed.

In addition, after determining the arrangement of the fixed camera so that a plurality of objects to be photographed enter the field of view, the arrangement of the objects to be photographed and the shape of the structure may be changed in the process of examining the satellite configuration.
When an additional camera is installed, there is a problem that it is necessary to add an accompanying component or to improve the number of channels.

  In addition, it is possible to shoot multiple objects in order by using a drive camera, but it is not possible to shoot objects that are simultaneously deployed and driven. There was a problem that it was necessary to place a camera.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a monitoring device capable of simultaneously photographing a plurality of photographing objects of a spacecraft with a minimum number of vehicles.

A spacecraft mounting monitoring device according to the present invention is a spacecraft mounting monitoring device that is mounted on a spacecraft and photographs a plurality of devices mounted on the spacecraft,
A photographing device for photographing at least one device included in the plurality of devices;
A mirror mounted on the spacecraft, within a field of view of the imaging device, and fixed at a position where other devices included in the plurality of devices can be imaged from the imaging device;
Consists of.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to simultaneously photograph a plurality of photographing objects with the minimum number of cameras, and there is an effect that the number of cameras can be reduced and the weight of the satellite can be reduced.

It is the figure which showed the structure of the spacecraft mounting monitoring apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is the figure which showed the structure seen from the arrow A of the spacecraft mounting monitoring apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is the figure which showed the holding structure of the mirror which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is an example of the list | wrist which showed the relationship between the expansion | deployment rate of the expansion | deployment which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention, and the adjustment position of a camera. It is an example of the list | wrist which showed the relationship between the expansion | deployment rate of the expansion | deployment which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention, and the rotation direction of a mirror. It is a figure explaining the imaging | photography method using the some mirror of the spacecraft mounting monitoring apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2 of this invention. It is the figure which showed the accommodation condition of the solar cell panel mounted in a satellite. It is the figure which showed the expansion | deployment condition of the solar cell panel mounted in a satellite.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of a spacecraft on-board monitoring device 50 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention and the arrangement of the components. Here, an artificial satellite is taken as an example of a spacecraft, but the present invention can also be applied to a flying object or a space station other than the artificial satellite.

In FIG. 1, an artificial satellite 100 includes a satellite structure 10 that is a satellite body, a solar battery panel 2 that supplies current to the satellite structure 10, and an antenna 4 that is an observation device. The antenna 4 is installed on a support column 6 provided in the satellite structure 10.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of the artificial satellite as viewed from the direction of arrow A shown in FIG.
The monitoring device 50 includes a camera 1 and a mirror 5.
A configuration is shown in which a mirror 5 is arranged in the field of view of the camera 1 and the antenna 4 is placed in the field of view of the camera, and then the solar cell panel 2 in the opposite direction is photographed through the mirror 5. By disposing the mirror 5 in the field of view of the camera 1, the field of view is divided, and a single camera 1 can simultaneously photograph a plurality of objects (antenna 4 and solar cell panel 2).
The size of the mirror 5 necessary for photographing up to the tip of the rotating solar battery panel 2 is about 400 mm long × 500 mm wide, and can be sufficiently mounted on a structure.

FIG. 3 is a view showing the mirror 5 and a holding structure for holding the mirror 5.
Since satellites are subject to vibrations and shocks during launch, they must withstand launch environments such as vibrations and shocks. Therefore, in this embodiment, the mirror 5 is held by the back structure 7.
In FIG. 3, the mirror 5 is bonded and fixed to the small panel 8 with a conductive adhesive to prevent charging. At this time, in order to prevent the mirror 5 from cracking due to the difference in thermal expansion coefficient between the mirror 5 and the small panel 8, one mirror for obtaining an image is not bonded to the small panel 8 as it is. A plurality of mirrors (divided mirrors) 5a, 5b, 5c,... Obtained by dividing one mirror into a plurality of parts are preferably aligned and bonded in the vertical and horizontal directions to form the mirror 5.
The surface of the mirror 5 is previously coated with a conductive coating and a UV (Ultra Violet) coating in order to prevent deterioration due to atomic oxygen or ultraviolet rays in the space environment.
As described above, the small panel 8 in which the plurality of mirrors 5 having the conductive coating and the UV coating on the surface are aligned in the vertical and horizontal directions and bonded and fixed with the conductive adhesive is arranged from the back side opposite to the mirror. It was made to hold | maintain with the back structure 7 which is a holding structure. The back structure 7 is, for example, a plate material having a predetermined acute angle, and the back structure 7 is fixed at a position where the status of the satellite orbit development and the driving device can be visually confirmed.

  Conventionally, when both the antenna 4 and the solar battery panel 2 to be photographed are photographed at the same time, two cameras 1 are provided in the satellite structure 10, and the antenna 4 and the solar battery panel 2 are photographed by each camera. .

In the spacecraft on-board monitoring apparatus according to the present embodiment, the antenna 4 is in the field of view of the camera 1, and the solar panel 2 can be newly photographed via the mirror 5 below the antenna 4. Is provided.
The mirror 5 is made of glass or silver or aluminum deposited on a small panel and supported by a back structure. The mirror 5 may be either a plane mirror or a convex mirror, and the mirror curved surface can be designed according to the position, size, etc. of the object to be imaged.
In addition, when the mirror 5 is exposed to the launch environment and the space environment, it is assumed that the mirror may be cracked or chipped. However, even if the mirror 5 is cracked or chipped, the number of areas of the mirror 5 is not limited. If it is less than or equal to%, there is no problem.

The camera 1 is mounted on an optical stage (not shown) that can move in a linear direction (x, y, z), a rotational direction (θ, φ, η), and a tilt direction (L), and is installed in a satellite structure 10. .
The movement in the linear direction, rotational direction, and tilt direction may be adjustable by remote operation from the ground station.

Next, the operation will be described.
First, the solar battery panel 2 mounted on the satellite is launched in a stowed state so as to be accommodated in the rocket fairing when launched.
FIG. 7 shows the solar cell paddle in the stowed state when the satellite is launched. In FIG. 7, 2 is a solar cell panel, 21 is a solar cell element, 30 is a holding bush, 40 is a deployment hinge, and 10 is a satellite structure. The solar cell panel on which the solar cell element 21 is mounted is housed so as to be folded so that 2 is folded.

The satellite 1 launched in such a state deploys a solar cell panel on which a solar cell element is mounted in outer space up to a predetermined position, and supplies necessary power to the satellite.
FIG. 8 shows the solar cell paddle in a state where it is deployed in outer space. The figure shows a solar cell paddle having four solar cell plates and a yoke 60 that is a coupling member to the satellite structure.

In this way, solar panels are stored in the rocket fairing when launched, and are deployed sequentially in outer space. However, when a malfunction occurs, such as when the deployment of the solar panel stops halfway, the situation can be visualized. This makes it easier to take measures.
This applies not only to solar battery panels but also to on-orbit deployments such as antennas and drive devices that operate onboard satellites.

In the present embodiment, an operation for simultaneously photographing both the antenna deployment and the solar cell panel deployment operation by the camera 1 will be described.
First, in the storage state of the solar cell panel (FIG. 7), the movement adjustment of the optical stage on which the camera 1 is placed in the linear direction, the rotation direction, and the tilt direction is performed. At this time, the movement adjustment of the optical stage in the linear direction, rotation direction, and tilt direction is performed so that both the antenna 4 (not shown) before deployment and the solar cell panel before deployment are in the field of view.
The mirror 5 is arranged in the field of view of the camera 1 to divide the field of view, and the antenna 4 and the solar panel 2 in the housed state reflected on the mirror 5 are photographed simultaneously.

Next, the state in which the antenna 4 and the solar battery panel 2 are being deployed is photographed.
At this time, in accordance with the deployment state of the antenna 4 (the deployment ratio when the total deployment state is 100) and the deployment state of the solar cell panel 2 (the deployment ratio when the total deployment state is 100) in advance. The optimal position and orientation of the camera 1 are calculated in advance by calculation or the like to form a list 70.
FIG. 4 is an example of the list 70 calculated in the development of the solar cell panel 2. Based on the list 70, the adjustment positions of the camera 1 in the linear direction, rotation direction, and tilt direction can be obtained according to the deployment state (deployment rate) of the solar cell panel 2.
Depending on the unfolded state of the antenna 4 and the solar cell panel 2, the optical stage (not shown) linear direction (x, y, z), rotation direction (θ, φ, η), tilt direction (based on the list 70) L) is determined, and the optical stage is moved.
By doing in this way, even if the antenna 4 and the solar cell panel 2 are moving together, the antenna 4 and the solar cell panel 2 can be photographed in an optimal state.
The movement of the optical stage can be controlled by a computer (not shown) mounted on the satellite 1.

Finally, when the deployment of the antenna 4 and the solar cell panel 2 is completed, the movement of the optical stage is stopped.
At this time, by disposing the mirror 5 in the field of view of the camera 1, the field of view can be divided and the antenna 4 and the solar cell panel 2 in the fully developed state reflected on the mirror 5 can be photographed simultaneously.

The size of the solar battery panel 2 reflected on the mirror 5 is affected by the curved surface shape of the mirror 5 and the position and performance of the camera 1, but compared with the case of directly shooting without using the mirror 5, It is sufficient from the viewpoint of soundness evaluation (confirmation of deployment / drive).
The accuracy and ease of integrity evaluation (development / drive confirmation) may be compared by replacing with a camera having a lens with a different focal length.

In the present embodiment, the camera 1 is placed on the optical stage and the position and orientation of the camera can be adjusted. However, the camera 1 is not directly placed on the optical stage but is directly fixed to the satellite structure 10. It may be.
In this case, there is no adjustment mechanism for the camera position and orientation, and the field of view of the camera 1 cannot be adjusted. However, there is an effect that the reliability of the camera operation is improved accordingly.

When the camera 1 is fixed directly to the satellite structure 10 without being mounted on the optical stage, the mirror 5 is mounted on the optical stage (not shown) and the solar cell panel 2 is deployed (deployment rate). Depending on the case, the optical stage may be moved in a linear direction, a rotational direction, or a tilt direction. Thereby, the direction of the surface of the mirror 5 (surface orientation of the mirror 5) can be adjusted according to the expansion ratio.
In this case, while the heavy camera 1 is in a fixed state, the solar cell panel is improved in reliability by adjusting the direction of the mirror surface that is lighter than the camera 1 and moving the camera 1 more reliably. It is possible to photograph the development status of
FIG. 5 is an example of the list 71 calculated in the development of the solar cell panel 2. Based on the list 71, the linear direction, rotation direction, and tilt direction of the optical stage (mirror 5 mounted on the optical stage) are adjusted according to the deployment state (deployment rate) of the solar cell panel 2.
The adjustment of the optical stage can be performed by a controller that stores the lists 70 and 71 in a memory.

  As described above, the spacecraft mounting monitoring apparatus according to the present embodiment includes the mirror 5 in the field of view of the camera 1, and includes a plurality of targets to be directly captured by the camera 1 and targets to be indirectly captured by the mirror 5. It was possible to shoot at the same time.

  In this embodiment, a mirror is arranged for each object to be imaged. However, since wiring is unnecessary and accompanying components are unnecessary, the arrangement of the camera is larger than that for each object to be imaged. The degree of freedom is large, and resources such as mounting space can be used effectively.

  In addition, it is relatively easy to cope with a sudden change in the arrangement of the object to be photographed (change in the arrangement of the mirrors).

  Further, by using a convex mirror or the like as the mirror, it is possible to photograph a wider range, and it is also possible to reduce the number of mirrors.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide a monitoring device capable of simultaneously photographing a plurality of photographing objects of a spacecraft while minimizing the number of cameras mounted on the spacecraft.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of the spacecraft on-board monitoring device according to the second embodiment. Unlike Embodiment 1, a configuration in which a plurality of (two in FIG. 6) mirrors 5 are arranged in the field of view of camera 1 and two solar battery panels 2 are photographed through each mirror 5 is shown. It is.

In FIG. 6, reference numeral 1 denotes a camera, which is fixed so that the field of view of the camera faces directly above in the figure.
A mirror 5 a and a mirror 5 b are provided above the camera 1 and below the antenna 4. The reflecting surfaces of the mirror 5a and the mirror 5b are installed in different directions. The solar panel 2a on the left side of the figure is projected on the mirror 5a viewed from the camera 1, and the solar panel 2b on the right side of the figure is projected on the mirror 5a. Is done.

In this way, by arranging the mirrors 5a and 5b in the field of view of the camera 1, the field of view is divided, and the antenna 4 and the solar cell panel 2 in the fully developed state projected on the mirrors 5a and 5b can be photographed simultaneously. it can.
In the case of the first embodiment, one solar cell panel and the antenna 4 of the solar cell panels that are deployed in both directions could be photographed simultaneously. However, in the configuration of the second embodiment, both solar cells The panel and the antenna 4 can be photographed simultaneously.

  The size of the solar battery panel 2 reflected on the mirrors 5a and 5b is affected by the curved surface shape of the mirrors 5a and 5b and the position and performance of the camera 1, but compared with the case of directly shooting without using the mirrors 5a and 5b. Therefore, it is sufficient from the viewpoint of soundness evaluation (confirmation of deployment / driving) of the object to be photographed.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, by setting a plurality of mirrors that fall within the field of view of the camera 1, it is possible to set the shooting range that can be shot with the camera 1 to be wider.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Camera, 2 Solar cell panel, 4 Antenna, 5 Mirror, 5a, 5b, 5c Split mirror, 6 support | pillar, 7 Back structure, 8 Small panel, 10 Satellite structure, 20 Solar cell panel, 21 Solar cell element, 30 Holding bush , 40 deployment hinge, 50 spacecraft onboard monitoring device, 60 yoke, 70 camera position associated with deployment rate, angle adjustment list, 71 mirror position associated with deployment rate, angle adjustment list, 100 satellite .

Claims (6)

A spacecraft-mounted monitoring device for photographing equipment mounted on a spacecraft and mounted on the spacecraft,
A photographing device for photographing the device;
A mirror provided in the field of view of the imaging device;
With
The spacecraft monitoring device, wherein the imaging device captures an image of the device reflected by the mirror. The device is a deployment structure;
The spacecraft mounting monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the imaging device moves the visual field direction based on a list in which a deployment rate of the development structure and a visual field direction of the imaging device are associated with each other. The device is a deployment structure;
The spacecraft mounting monitoring apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the mirror rotates the surface of the mirror based on a list in which an expansion rate of the expansion structure is associated with a direction in which the surface of the mirror faces.   The spacecraft on-board monitoring according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the imaging device captures an image of the device reflected by the mirror and simultaneously captures the device within the field of view of the imaging device. apparatus. The mirror is composed of a plurality of divided mirrors arranged,
The surface of the split mirror is provided with a conductive coating and a UV coating,
The split mirror is fixed to the panel by a conductive adhesive,
The spacecraft mounting monitoring apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the panel is mounted on the spacecraft by a holding structure.   6. The spacecraft mounting monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein the device is a driving device that operates in outer space.

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